It’s become conventional wisdom that hybrids have a significant energy advantage over commonplace gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles. But according to a new study, conventional wisdom is once against wrong.

In a face-off that takes into account everything from production to the eventual disposal of a vehicle – along with the fuel used while that vehicle is on the road – gasoline and diesel trump hybrids, declares the latest in an ongoing series of “Dust to Dust” studies by the West Coast research firm, CNW Marketing.

But pure battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, may trump all other automotive technologies, according to CNW’s chief, Art Spinella.

Instant Energy

“When it comes to the total energy cost to society of individual models of vehicles, diesel and gasoline powered vehicles are less expensive from “Dust to Dust” than the current comparable hybrid offerings,” says Spinella, adding that, “In a face-off between diesel and gasoline, diesel-powered models are similarly less energy intensive.”